No widespread violence during gov, assembly elections - Lagos CP insists

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, has shut down reports of widespread violence, voter suppression and intimidation in the governorship and House of Assembly elections in Lagos on Saturday, March 18, 2023.

While acknowledging that electorate and electoral officers were brutally attacked in some polling units in the state, Owohunwa rejected the claims that the attacks were extensive.

He made these known while answering questions in an interview with Channels Television on Saturday.

The police chief also disclosed that the police had anticipated some of the attacks and responded swiftly to most of them.

Owohunwa's words: “It is true that we’ve recorded instances of violence in some areas within the state. The incidents were not as widespread as to affect the general dynamics of the process.

“Most of the instances were properly responded to by the police because we anticipated them.

“Yes, in some instances. We anticipated and then we integrated that into our general operational plan and we activated that protocol effectively in this instance. Most of those breaches, the police were able to respond promptly.”

He also reacted to a video showing voters subduing a young man said to have snatched a ballot box at a polling unit, describing the action as illegal.

Owohunwa revealed that the man was later rescued by the police and other security agencies, adding that the suspected electoral offender was receiving medical attention.

“He’s stable; he’s not dead,” the police chief said.